Cong plans demo in TN on May 26 against draft EB Bill

CHENNAI: The state Congress on Friday said that it has decided to launch a statewide demonstration on May 26 in protest against the Centre’s decision to cancel free electricity for farmers.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president KS Alagiri, in a statement, said that the main focus of the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is to cut free electricity not only to the farmers but also for weavers and poor people in the state.

Stating that Centre has also warned Tamil Nadu that it had not collected electricity chargers from the farmers, there would be reduction in credit funds, the Congress leader wondered whether the AIADMK government had opposed it.

Alagiri also pointed out that free electricity is being used by the beneficiaries in the state for the last 30 years and the scheme cannot be suddenly discontinued by the Centre.

“The electricity is used for more than 24 lakh pump sets owned by farmers and people living in 11 lakh huts were also benefited from free 100 units of power,” he said.

The Congress leader also said despite Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi opposing the proposed discontinuation of free electricity, the Union Finance Ministry had rejected the state’s appeal. “Now the state government have been pushed to a situation that it could not protest the Centre’s proposal to scrap free electricity scheme,” he said. “Since the Union government did not heed to our request and the failure of state government to protect the rights of the farmers, there would be a state-wide protest demonstration by only 10 Congress cadre. They will protest holding black flags at all zones, municipalities, towns and central government offices such post offices and nationalised banks,” he said.

The main focus of the Draft Electricity Bill, 2020, is to cut free power not only to farmers but also to weavers and the poor, said KS Alagiri